Unsurpassed Benefits of a After Hours Answering Service

Who is providing support for your business when you leave the office? The reality for most businesses is that resources are scarce, which makes providing 24-7 support to their customers out of reach. 

A solution to this dilemma is a professional answering service that provides after-hours support. This way, businesses can stay connected with their potential customers around the clock.

Discover the 5 key benefits of using an after-hour answering service for your business.

1. Improved Observance of Business Appointments

After-hours answering services have immensely improved business appointments. Between the time a customer makes an initial appointment to the actual date, a lot can happen. If you run a business that is available 24/7, a customer has the peace of mind they can communicate any schedule changes, even outside regular business hours.

If you need to reschedule appointments with customers, an after-hour answering team can make the calls for you. Stats show higher engagement rates when calling a customer to reschedule an appointment versus emailing.

Many businesses and organizations use virtual receptionists who can answer incoming calls at any time of day.

As an example, a medical practice needs to be available for its patients at all hours of the day. Patient calls need to be managed in case of emergencies and directed to the appropriate care provider.

Furthermore, medical practices tend to have high volatility in appointment scheduling. Between cancelations and rescheduling, this can have an impact on the efficiency of the practice and its staff.

Go here if you would like to know how no-shows affect health care.

2. Higher Revenue Generation

Moreover, it is undeniable that telephone answering services lead to increased revenue generation. Specifically for smaller businesses that have staff limitations.

When selling a product or service, support and customer service play an important role in the customer’s journey. A purchase from a new customer is an amazing feeling for any business. So why not provide an excellent customer experience all the way through?

Customers tend to have questions or can be interested in buying more of what you sell. Talking to a real person can have a tremendous effect on a customer’s decision to make a purchase.

Imagine answering customer inquiries, taking orders, or setting the next appointment around the clock—even when you are at home resting. This is a core function of an after-hours call service.

3. Open and Clear Communication

To understand your customers, open communication is required. Limiting a potential client’s ability to communicate with your business could have dire consequences. Even with an open line of communication in place, much can be lost in translation between the customer and your business.

With or without an after-hours virtual receptionist service, you should outline your communication processes. This will create a clear understanding of how your business is communicating with customers and partners.

With processes in place, the job of implementing them becomes fundamentally easier. An all-in-one phone answering service can take that information, integrate it into their system, and train their agents accordingly. This will guarantee that your processes match and communications with your customers are consistent for lower costs than the ones you would have to cover if you were to hire and train new employees.

Read more about Importance of Communication and Meeting Customer Requirements.

4. Expedited Customer Support

With the help of basic after-hours virtual receptionist services, business owners can ensure fast and convenient customer support while promoting business growth.

A fundamental goal for any business strategy should be to create a seamless customer experience, and support is a key pillar in this strategy. However, ensuring consistent service and taking calls after hours can be a taxing proposition. Hiring and training staff can help businesses offer excellent customer service, but it can also be a major business strain.

Even after selling products or rendering services during normal business hours, your business is likely to receive further queries from consumers. Sometimes, customers may need urgent information and follow-up services. Therefore, providing an after-hours phone answering service helps you act fast and deliver exceptional service. If necessary, you can even ensure that refunds or substitute items or services are given to replace the initial ones.

As an example, property managers receive essential calls from tenants at all hours of the day. These calls consist of complaints, requests, and simple updates. A property manager could be managing 150 locations. With so many tenants, it can become overwhelming to manage all their telephone calls, especially after hours. As such, a 24-hour call answering service enables them to respond to tenant concerns and requests even when they’re not in their office.

5. Piece of Mind

Finally, 24-hour call center services will give you much-desired peace of mind. With the unfailing guarantee that all the phone calls made in your absence are taken care of, emergency calls included, you can relax knowing that your business calls are handled, and your company maintains a solid reputation.

You’ll not have any worries at all since callers will be presented with the process you have discussed and established with the team providing the after-hours call center service.

About Unicom Teleservices

Professional answering service company located in Chicago, Illinois. Our professional live agents are available 24 / 7 / 365. We never close.

For 25 years, Unicom has worked with companies from all industries and handled their phone calls. We take the time to understand each company’s process so we can deliver value and the highest level of service.

Want to take advantage of our customer service systems and provide seamless service to your clients? Call us today and request an answering service quote. Together we can determine the best way we can help and boost your availability for your customers.

Let our customer service representative handle your inbound calls and impress your clients with constant availability and a dedicated team ready to answer all their questions.

Post Update: The article was updated on December 10th, 2022, originally published on January 3rd, 2017. It has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.